Where We Live

Tri-state area or New England? Nutmeg or Constitution State? "Stuffy, preppy, sleepy"? What really makes Connecticut Connecticut, and what stereotypes can we stand to shake off?

After the state's recent rebranding effort, it's a debate that has found its way to the national stage. This hour, Catherine Shen is joined by a roundtable of Connecticut Public hosts, as we debate what defines Connecticut.

And we want to hear from you. What characterizes or typifies where you live? What do you think people get wrong or right about Connecticut's reputation?

GUESTS:

• Colin McEnroe: Host, The Colin McEnroe Show
• Chion Wolf: Host, Audacious with Chion Wolf
• Dr. Khalilah Brown-Dean: Host, Disrupted
• Dr. Jonathan Wharton: Associate Professor of Political Science and Urban Affairs, Southern Connecticut State University; Columnist, CT News Junkie and Hearst Connecticut

Find more about the show here: Where We Live

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Depending on where you live,warmer winters could mean less and less snow. In some places, it’s only one or two degrees that could make a difference.

Joining us today are two scientists looking at the data around snow in our region and beyond to start to calculate how much snow loss is impacting us, and what it means for our environment.

Less snow can mean a lot of things, including a big impact on winter sports. We also hear from a local ski resort.

And later, we learn about solastalgia.

GUESTS:

• Laura Loffredo: Director of Sales & Marketing at Powder Ridge Mountain Park & Resort
• Alex Gottlieb: PhD Candidate Ecology, Evolution, and Society at Dartmouth College
• Justin Mankin: Associate Professor of Geography at Dartmouth College and Director of the Climate Modeling and Impact Group
• Dr. Karen Steinberg Gallucci, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Public Health Sciences UConn Health

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

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2023 was the sixth rainiest year on record for Connecticut, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In July alone, more than 1,500 acres of Connecticut farmland flooded over, representing $21 million in lost sales revenue.

This hour, we hear from Chris Bassette of Killam & Bassette Farmstead in South Glastonbury, who says she is still holding out hope for relief for the nearly half-a-million dollars in losses she logged from July’s floods. We also get an update from State Department of Agriculture Commissioner Bryan Hurlburt.

Plus, the Hartford Flood Compensation Program is aimed at providing some short-term relief to residents who have been dealing with systemic flooding and sewage problems. State Comptroller Sean Scanlon is overseeing the program, and discusses the efforts to focus these funds on the North End of the Capital City.

Sharon Lewis is the Executive Director of the CT Coalition for Environmental Justice. Her North End home has been uninhabitable for over a year due to flooding and sewage in her basement and first floor. She joins us, along with Connecticut Mirror investigative reporter Dave Altimari.

GUESTS:

• Christine Bassette: Owner-Operator, Killam & Bassette Farmstead
• Bryan Hurlburt: Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Agriculture
• Dave Altimari: Investigative Reporter, Connecticut Mirror
• Sharon Lewis: Executive Director, CT Coalition for Environmental Justice; North End Resident
• Sean Scanlon: Connecticut State Comptroller
• Bridgitte Prince: Human and Environmental Rights Activist
• James Chow: Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division Deputy Director, Environmental Protection Agency

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

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In our newsroom, we’ve been having a lot of conversations about how we cover the Israel-Hamas War. And sometimes, we find ourselves conflicted about who to talk to, what stories to cover, what language we use, and what we can do to make our coverage as fair and truthful as possible.

Where are you getting your information on the Israel-Hamas War? Odds are you're probably following the war through social media. According to the Washington Post, TikTok is drawing billions of views from #Palestine and #Israel.

As journalists, we understand that how the war is presented on social and news media can shape public opinion.

Today, we’re talking about just that.

GUESTS:

• Professor Scott Wallace: Associate Professor in the Department of Journalism at UConn
• Adrian Bonenberger: Writer and journalist
• Michael Spikes: Lecturer & Program Director; Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University
• Georgia Wells: Tech Reporter Wall Street Journal

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

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Tess TerribleTess is a senior producer for Connecticut Public news-talk show Where We Live. She enjoys hiking Connecticut's many trails and little peaks, gardening and writing in her seven journals.See stories by Tess TerribleCatherine ShenCatherine is the Host of Connecticut Public’s morning talk show and podcast, Where We Live. Catherine and the WWL team focus on going beyond the headlines to bring in meaningful conversations that put Connecticut in context.See stories by Catherine ShenTOP HEADLINES

1. What to expect in the Bridgeport, Connecticut, do-over mayoral primary
2. Quantum technology: What is it? Why does it matter? Where will it take CT?
3. CT’s Sarah Russell gets committee nod for federal judgeship
4. New Haven Pride Center expands services after moving to bigger space
5. CT takes a leap forward with a new website to foster workforce growth

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You’ve heard of Bigfoot and Nessie, but did you know Connecticut is home to a host of creatures, or "cryptids"?

Cryptozoology is the study of animals whose existence is a matter of debate. While Bigfoot sightings have been reported where we live, sea serpents, the Glastonbury Glawackus, and plenty of others call Connecticut home.

This hour, we hear from Patrick Scalisi and Valerie Ruby-Omen, the author and illustrator of a new field guide to this cast of Connecticut cryptids.

Plus, Stephen Olbrys Gencarella explains how folklore can deepen our understanding of these fantastic creatures, and how the stories about them are shaped over time.

• Patrick Scalisi: Author, Connecticut Cryptids: A Field Guide to the Weird and Wonderful Creatures of the Nutmeg State
• Valerie Ruby-Omen: Illustrator, Connecticut Cryptids
• Stephen Olbrys Gencarella: Professor of Folklore Studies, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

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Quantum mechanics is a theory that even some scientists have trouble wrapping their heads around. But this industry is booming, and some physicists here in Connecticut are hoping to make our state the “Quantum Corridor” for research, workforce development and education.

In May 2023, “the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $1 million federal planning grant to Yale University and the University of Connecticut toward developing quantum technology related businesses in Connecticut.”

Today, we hear about this project and learn about the future of quantum. We’ll attempt to answer the question: “what is quantum mechanics?” We only have an hour, but we will try our best.

We’ll hear how this field could eventually touch every area of science.

GUESTS:

• Michael DiDonato: UConn Tech Park Business Development Manager, and QuantumCT UConn Project Manager
• Steven Girvin: Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics at Yale
• Dr. Brian Sullivan: High School STEM teacher teaching physics, calculus and statistics at the Wooster School, a private co-educational school in Danbury Connecticut

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In 2015, journalist Elise Hu moved to South Korea to open the NPR Seoul bureau. During her time in South Korea, she witnessed the rise of K-beauty culture or “Korean beauty.”

K-beauty encompasses a multitude of beauty treatments. It doesn’t just include luxury skincare lines, and expensive facemasks; there's also LED light therapy, injections, fillers, and a myriad of options for plastic surgery.

These procedures are becoming an increasingly normal part of daily life in South Korea, but also in the United States. They are also more accessible than ever to anyone that wants to change the way they look.

Although some are starting to question the pursuit of keeping up with today’s beauty standards, this multibillion dollar beauty industry isn't going away.

Today, Elise Hu joins us on Where We Live to talk about her book Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital.

We talk about the pursuit and pain of keeping up with today’s beauty standards.

GUEST:

• Elise Hu: host of TED Talks Daily and also a host-at-large for NPR. She is the author of Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Cat Pastor contributed to this show which originally aired September 19, 2023.

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When an error was spotted in the Spanish-language instructions for the capital city’s ballot, just before the November election, officials moved to correct it. Advocates have said the error underscores the language access issues many Connecticut residents face, and the different kinds of Spanish-language mis- and disinformation there are to tackle.

Former Rhode Island Secretary of State and Pell Center senior cybersecurity fellow Nellie Gorbea recently hosted a workshop for Latino elected officials in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts, to address mis- dis- and malinformation.

This hour, we discuss the layered issue of Spanish-language mis- and disinformation, and the efforts to address it.

Nellie Gorbea joins us, along with UConn's Dr. Charles Venator, to discuss the important role state and local governments play, particularly as the 2024 election approaches. Plus, Madeleine Bair is the founding director of El Tímpano, a news outlet that recently trained over 100 Latino immigrants in disinformation defense.

GUESTS:

• Dr. Charles Venator: Faculty Director, UConn's Puerto Rican Studies Initiative; Director, El Instituto: Institute of Latino, Caribbean, and Latin American Studies

• Madeleine Bair: Founding Director, El Tímpano

• Nellie Gorbea: Visiting Senior Fellow on Cybersecurity, Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy; Former Secretary of State, Rhode Island

Cat Pastor contributed to this episode which originally aired December 7, 2023.

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Growing up as a transracial adoptee, Angela Tucker's friends, family, and even strangers would make comments and assumptions about what her life would have been like if she hadn’t been adopted.

Angela Tucker is the author of the book "You Should Be Grateful": Stories of Race, Identity, and Transracial Adoption and she is Executive Director of the Adoptee Mentoring Society.

Today, we talk about the intricacies of navigating life as a transracial adoptee. For years, adoption stories have been told from the point of view of the adoptive parents. Angela says it’s time to flip the script and let adoptees tell their stories.

Later, we hear from an adoption agency and learn about the type of conversations they have with potential transracial adoptive parents.

If you have a personal experience with adoption, we want to hear from you.

Check out the UConn Health Adoption Assurance Program to find more information about transracial adoption.

GUESTS:

• Angela Tucker: Author of the book, "You Should Be Grateful": Stories of Race, Identity, and Transracial Adoption and Executive Director of the Adoptee Mentoring Society

• Laura Sullivan: Chief Program Officer at Just Choice, a pro-choice adoption agency

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Cat Pastor contributed to this show which originally aired December 8, 2023.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No matter where you live, the opioid epidemic has likely touched you or someone you know.

Now, a state committee set up to allocate settlement funds from opioid manufacturers and distributors has just issued its first reporting of disbursements at the municipal level.

The stakes are high. Connecticut has some of the highest opioid death rates in the country. Each month, more than 100 people die in Connecticut from an opioid overdose. More than 9,000 overdose deaths have been documented since 2015, and the vast majority of these fatal overdoses are linked to opioids or, increasingly, to synthetic opioids or proxies.

After years of litigation, major opioid manufacturers and distributors have begun paying $600 million in settlement funds to Connecticut over the next 20 years. Those funds are intended to be allocated in ways that prevent future opioid deaths, a process the state’s 45-member Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee will help oversee.

This hour, we’ll hear from Christine Minhee who oversees one of the only national databases tracking opioid settlement spending. Minhee is "astounded" by Connecticut's first round of municipal reporting, and the level of detail as to how and where those dollars are headed.

We'll also hear from William Tong, Connecticut Attorney General, and advocates in our region who are working to reframe how we talk about and treat the opioid epidemic.

GUESTS:

• Christine Gagnon: Member, Connecticut Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee
• Tracie Gardner: Senior Vice President of Policy Advocacy, Legal Action Center; Former Assistant Secretary of Mental Hygiene, New York State
• Mark Jenkins: Founder and Executive Director, Connecticut Harm Reduction Alliance
• William Tong: Connecticut Attorney General
• Christine Minhee: Attorney; Manages OpioidSettlementTracker.com

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.